Chinese Leader Faces Huge Political Crisis After Outbreak

Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, is currently facing a political crisis following the outbreak of the Coronavirus.

By the end of Tuesday, the China National Health Commission had confirmed 5974 cases and 132 deaths in Mainland China.

Beijing is taking measures to contain the spread of the virus. It’s locking down cities, restricting travel, and extending the Lunar New Year holiday.

Meanwhile, economists expect the outbreak to affect tourism and consumption in and out of China.

According to Allison Sherlock, the virus’s rapid escalation after its outbreak in Dec has likely made Xi Jinping Jinping realize it wasn’t just a public health crisis.

Allison is a Chinese researcher at the Eurasia Group- a risk consultancy firm.

“This is probably the greatest political challenge that he’s faced since taking office in 2012,” Sherlock told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“At the central level, President Xi and his right-hand man, Premier Li Keqiang, I think they understand that the stakes are very high here.”

Allison added that the mishandling of the virus didn’t just lead to its rapid spread; it also eroded trust in his government. However, Xi will do everything in his power to ensure that people start believing in his government again.

Volcker Stanzel – the former German ambassador to China, also said that the Coronavirus outbreak was the biggest challenge for Xi’s Communist Party leadership this year.

Communist Party fighting hard to win people’s trust

According to Stanzel, the constant factor of the Communist Party for the last 70 years has been to hold onto power ruthlessly and relentlessly without giving in. Stanzel is now a distinguished senior fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, SWP.

For example, Xi has managed to consolidate power at the very top of the political ladder.

On Tuesday, Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin discussed China’s outlook for 2020.

Stanzel pointed out that if the Communist Party and the person at the top failed to manage stress factors, then they’d be put into question.

Forget about the unrest in Hong Kong or the elections in Taiwan. You’ll begin to see symptoms as media reported about the Coronavirus.

China heavily controls its official media. The official media continues to report on how the government is putting in all efforts to control the virus.

However, anger on social media over how the virus is going out of control has prevailed. Often in coded terms to evade censors.

Now, internet sensors can’t control cynical questions on the internet, whether the government is appropriately managing the crisis.

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, told the head of the WHO that the Coronavirus was a “devil.” He is confident China will win the battle against it.